A DEI strategy is often used as mixed terms and is somewhat indistinguishable within Human Resources. Although the words diversity, equity, and inclusion are closely related to corporate culture, it is interesting to note the nuances between these terms to understand them better.
In fact, many companies are systematizing their policies in this regard through the so-called DEI strategy. This strategy aims to organize all corporate actions and the values on which they are based to manage these concepts in a useful way for the company and its employees.
What is a DEI strategy within companies?
When we talk about inclusion, we are bringing people together or accepting new members into the workforce and treating them well once inside. In this sense, an intuitive definition of what we genuinely consider diversity, equity, and inclusion in companies could be the following:
Inclusion (of diverse profiles) through equity (treating everyone with the same respect and openness regardless of their differences) is the company’s process of embracing diversity.
This is an inherent workforce characteristic that the organization can more or less accept. Inclusion is what the company does to manage diversity, and equity is what characterizes inclusion. The objective is for the diversity of the workforce members in terms of key human traits not to be a problem for the company. On the contrary: the corporate culture should be at the service of the well-being of the employees.
Evidently, we go to work to work, and companies should not become paternalistic environments. However, they should constitute a healthy and safe space where people can work, knowing that their characteristics, especially those not based on their own decisions (age, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.). When employees perceive that they are warmly and naturally welcomed in their company, they tend to work better and be more committed to the organization.
Factors that limit a DEI strategy
1. Corporate Inertia
In many cases, stimulating diversity, equity, and inclusion in companies has not been a conscious decision but has been happening through positive inertia.
Other companies operate with unintended conservatism rather than the result of an unfortunately frequent business drift: it is not that we do not want to change, but we haven’t noticed that the possibility of change exists.
In these cases, and as long as this way of operating is not apparent, it is most likely that the organization is losing essential opportunities in terms of reputation, performance, and talent attraction-retention.
2. Conservative Corporate Culture
In this case, we are not talking about simple inertia, which can be corrected easily if there is a willingness to do so. On the contrary, we refer to companies that consciously find their corporate culture on a certain immobility regarding the human factor, sometimes very intensely.
In this way, they generate work environments, team structures, processes, and brands that are very homogeneous, rigid, and often unfriendly to all those people (many) who do not fit into the above-stated style.
Benefits of managing a DEI strategy properly in companies
Apart from legal obligations aimed at promoting the acceptance of diversity in the corporate sphere, there is an increasing awareness of the technical and economic benefits of having an appropriate strategy for managing diversity, equity, and inclusion in companies, i.e., a DEI strategy. Here are three of the most notable:
1. Increasing Adaptability
Having a DEI strategy that effectively channels diversity, equity, and inclusion in companies enables them to adapt to different sociocultural contexts without losing the opportunity to incorporate the talent they need at any given time. This includes historical moments and places.
2. Improving Corporate Reputation
The social contexts in which organizations integrate comprise an increasingly diverse mix of people. These people are not immune, neither as internal customers (employees) nor as external customers (consumers), to the importance of how companies manage that reality. Guiding people through a good DEI strategy allows companies to improve their internal and external reputations.
3. Enhancing Team Performance
One of the most valued aspects by employees is learning from their colleagues and superiors. A diverse workforce allows team members to benefit from various backgrounds, enabling them to enrich their knowledge and skills and improve their performance.
We hope that this post on properly handling a DEI strategy in companies has interested you. If you want more information about ifeel’s emotional well-being services for companies, simply request it, and we will contact your team immediately.
